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Larger-Than-Life Heroes
What does it mean to be "larger-than-life"? What sort of games is this module appropriate for? And how can a group put to use the options contained in this module? Heroes of Destiny Popular media is full of stories of characters who are launched into great adventures by chance, and then proceed to single-handedly change the world. This module is meant to provide a mechanical basis to empower characters to do just that. A character with a high bonus to Destiny can nudge the long arc of history in a direction that he or she feels is best. And like those legendary heroes, characters with access to this module are unlikely to suffer inglorious defeat at the hands of some mooks. Instead, this module serves to let players shape the story that the game tells. If a player doesn't like the idea of his mighty knight being bested in combat by some lone, cowardly highwayman, then the player gains a certain ability to cheat fate, get another chance with the dice and bring the fight to a more satisfactory conclusion. And if used wisely, skills like Destiny let players change the world. Among other uses, Destiny lets players change the way the world around them works, one incremental change at a time. With enough effort, a character with high ranks in Destiny could conceivably wipe out hunger in his or her home city, or bring about an oppressive police-state, or help turn it into the city of tomorrow. This aspect of Fortune in particular requires proactive players, who have in mind clear goals for what they want their characters to achieve. Simple goals like "kill the bad guy and get the treasure" are all well and good, but it's goals like "overthrow the tyrant and restore the just, rightful king to the throne" that benefit most from skills like Destiny. Players who invest high ranks in Destiny are encouraged to have such long-term goals in mind. If you're interested in using this module but not playing a character who can shake up whole cities, you won't need many points invested in Destiny. Uncanny Luck On the other hand, the Luck skill is more about immediate insurance. A character with high ranks in Luck is actually in a strong position to succeed (or at least do moderately well) at just about everything, especially in important situations. Luck allows a player to skew results more towards the center of a bell-curve, especially when they shouldn't, by all rights, do well at a task (such as having no ranks in the appropriate skill). Character with high ranks in Luck can be jacks and jills of all trades, but a master of the skill will always be more effective, and less dependent on having Hero Dice than a lucky character. But moreso than that, a character with high ranks in Luck will tend to have insurance against ever being utterly helpless, since they always have some bonus to a resistance that they choose to reroll with Hero Dice. So while Destiny tends to be useful in infrequent moments of extreme drama, Luck finds use in every day situations. Luck is rarely glorious, but always useful. Extra Edge Fortune and Hero Dice together make characters slightly more powerful for their Power Level than they would otherwise be, in that they have more chances to succeed and make up for a botched check (especially with high ranks in Luck). However, since Hero Dice are a limited resource that GMs mostly control the valve of, they're something players need to save for truly important moments. Players tend to save them for what they perceive to be critical moments, and not use them on mundane checks. Category:Rulebook Category:Characters Category:Fortune